W.W.W. (Working Without Walls)

8 months – yes, it’s already 8 months since we were literally forced to stay home due to the CoVid-19 pandemic. Since the schools were not prepared for an abrupt ending of the school year, we were left with no other choice but to work from home to finish all the required documents.

I grew up with the orientation that I need to have my own desk in an office inside a building to be officially ‘working’. Having my own small office in the workplace and sitting behind a big desk has become my security blanket where I can feel that I am ‘working’.

The idea of WFH (Work From Home) then was something new. Without a distinct physical place, work has become seamless. So, you can actually either keep working until you fall asleep or you keep sleeping until you have to work.

Staying home the whole time also has become more complex since I started to get mixed up with all kinds of work. Work for my job, chores, ministry, hobbies, and others.

I then started to ask how did Jesus manage his work without a physical office? No, he didn’t work from home or work at home but he was literally working without walls!

The four Gospels in the New Testament record how Jesus went from place to place teaching, healing the sick, performing miracles, answering questions, and mentoring his disciples. Interestingly, they also record the moments when Jesus had to eat, sleep, visit his friends, and spend time alone with the Father.

In all these things that he did, he knew what he was supposed to do at the right time and at the right place. There was no record of Jesus getting confused or panicking about what to do. There is no doubt that Jesus was a highly organized person and he knew what he needed to prioritize at each certain time.

So I started these strategies to keep me productive and stay sane. Let me share them to you.

1. Set up a working space at home. It will be best to also dedicate different areas for different kinds of work or things to do.

2. Make a checklist the night before for the things to be done the following day. Categorize them into work (job), chores, ministry, etc.

3. Set a timetable for the different tasks that are in the list. Make sure to have a buffer time for the unexpected.

4. Stay focused, tick out the accomplished tasks for the day and congratulate yourself for finishing them. (This will give you a sense of accomplishment.)

5. Prepare the list for the next day and call it a day.

6. Thank God for the day and commit to him the tasks for the next day.

To sum this up are 2 keywords: ORGANIZE & PRIORITIZE.

Working Without (literal) Walls raises up mature workers who continue to work efficiently and yet know how to set their own (invisible) walls that keep them healthy physically, emotionally, and mentally.

Working Without Walls also awakened me that any kind of work is a work for Jesus! How I do my work tells people about the kind of Boss that I am working for.

John 4:34 ESV

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.

2 Chronicles 15:7 ESV

But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded.”

1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.